Body mounted surfboard

ABSTRACT

A board having a rigid body with a convex outer surface and a concave inner surface. The outer surface has ridges and grooves for directing movement and for maintaining directional stability. Rearward and inward curved semi-rigid members hold the surfboard on the frontal torso area of a wearer. Body encircling straps are used. A neck encircling member provides additional floatation at the neck area. The concave-convex surfboards with directional grooves are mounted directly on torso covering wet suits which provide the body encircling anchors.

Unite States Patent [1 1 [111 3,803,652 Uyehara Apr. 16, 1974 BODYMOUNTED SURFBOARD Prima Examiner-Mi1ton Buchler 1 K. h 2341 c St., W[76] mentor gzzgi g; 4 Gym Assistant Examiner-Paul E. Sauberer Attorney,Agent, or Firm-James C. Wray [22] Filed: Dec. 29, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:319,893

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl 9/310 E, D34/43, 272/1 B [51] Int. Cl. A63c15/02 [58] Field 9/338 310 face and a concave inner surface. The outersurface 9/310 R, 329; 1 14/16 A; 1334/41 has ridges and grooves fordirecting movement and for 43; 272/1 B, 71 maintaining directionalstability. Rearward and inward curved semi-rigid members hold thesurfboard on the A board having a rigid body with a convex outer sur-[56] References Cited frontal torso area of a wearer. Body encirclingstraps UNITED STATES PATENTS are used. A neck encircling member providesaddi- 1,510,532 10 1924 Zorn 9/338 X tional floatation at the neck area-The Concave-Convex 3,247,531 4/1966 Baker 1,547,518 7/1925 Ogrodnick1,114,739 10/1914 Dobinch 9/338 surfboards with directional grooves aremounted di- 9/338 rectly on torso covering wet suits which provide the9/338 body encircling anchors.

1,547,097 7/1925 Curie 9/338 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 10 Chims, 5Drawing Figures 1,327 11/1891 Great Britain 9/338 PATENTEUAPR 1s 1974saw 1 or 2 PAIENTEDAPR 16 1924 3 803 652 same or 2 BODY MOUNTEDSURFBOARD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Body surfing is a widely enjoyedsport. Great enjoyment may be obtained when a riders head extends wellin front of the wave. Enjoyment is also enhanced by the ability toachieve long rides. It is important to be able to ride waves of variedsizes and to be able to control direction and position on the wave face.Generally, the only equipment used in body surfing is swim fins, whichare used to provide an initial start and position in the path of a waveand to control position on the wave during a ride. Heretofore, nosuccessful equipment has been devised by others for promoting theenjoyment of body surfing by providing better head extension from thebase of a wave, lengthened rides of waves, ability to gain maximum useof large and small waves of varied condition, and the promotion ofpositional control on a wave face. Swimming devices previously proposedhave been cumbersome and restraining to the movement of a user.

PRIOR ART In the course of preparing a patent application, a search wasconducted in the United States Patent Office on behalf on the applicant.The following patents were selected as the closest examples of prior artin the most pertinent subclasses;

U.S. Pat. No. 1,510,532 describes a rigid, generally flat floatationskimming board which is adapted to be mounted on the chest of a wearer.Upturned, spaced apart extensions at the forward portion of the boardform a yoke for fitting over the wearers shoulder. A waist strap andcrossed back straps complete the mounting. The float is described as asea sled for providing buoyancy and lifting the head and shoulders outof the water to-permit a clear stroke. The board is also described as asafety device. While the board is not described particularly as asurfboard, apparently it may be used for that purpose. A somewhatrelated rigid float board is shown in.U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,603.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,843,617 illustrates a shaped board which may be used forswimming or surfing. Apparently, the only elements which hold the boardadjacent the body are two circular portions near the lower end throughwhicha person may place his legs.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,513,857 was selected for its showing of an inflatablesurfboard.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,247,531 was selected for its showing of, the buoyantneck portion of a curved vest. The vest of that patent is intended as alife vest, not as a surfing or swimming vest.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,722 was selected for its showing of a buoyant vestwith a different type of buoyant neck and waist strap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a body-mountedsurfboard which substantially covers the torso area of the wearer. Thebody-mounted board has a concave surface adjacent the chest and stomachof the wearer for closely fitting the torso portion of the wearer. Aconvex outer surface is provided with directional stabilizing means suchas ridges and grooves to promote relative directional movement of thesurfboard and underlying water. Preferably, the board tapers from alarge section near the chest of a wearer to an thinner section near thewaist of a wearer. A waist-engaging portion extends rearward and inwardaround the waist of a wearer. An upper torso-engaging portion issimilarly attached to the top of the board. Preferably, the upperbodyengaging portion extends around the neck of a wearer and is made ofa material with a soft outer surface to prevent bumping of the boardagainst the chin of a wearer and to promote floatation in the neck area.It should be pointed out at this juncture that the surfboard, whilebuoyant, is not intended to be used as a life preserver.

In a preferred embodiment, the board is constructed as an integral partof a torso covering wet suit, with the board being bonded on the outersurface of the wet suit or being formed as a relatively rigid insertbetween two layers of the wet suit.

In one embodiment, the surfboard body is formed on an inflated rubber orheavy plastic material with sealed sections to prevent total collapse ofthe board upon the rupturing of one section. Preferably, the sectionsrun longitudinally and provide intermediate grooves for directionalstabilization. A single or multiple inflation valve may be positionednear the top of the board with extensions which are easily reachable forinflating by mouth. The inflatable type board may be bonded on the outersurface of a wet suit or may be integrally formed with the wet suit. Awaist strap may be constructed of webbing, with a multiple loop and hooktype fastener such as commercially available under the name Velcro. Thebuoyant neckpiece may be wrapped around a neck and secured at the frontwith a similar type fastener. While the basic purpose of the presentinvention is not a life preserver, the board functions as a buoyancy aidand is useful if a user experiences trouble.

Broad objectives of the invention are accomplished by providing aninwardly curved, close-fitting, buoyant, relatively rigid surfboardmember with body-encircling means for holding the member on the body andwith longitudinal grooves in an external surface for providingdirectional stability. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a body mounted surfboardwhich is mounted on a torsocovering wet suit at the front thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a body mounted surfboardhaving a buoyant neck-encircling anchor means for providing secondarybuoyancy in the head area of a wearer;

Another object of the invention is the providing of a body-mountedsurfboard having a soft upper area adjacent a chin of a wearer.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a taperedbody-mounted surfboard having a relatively thin portion adjacent thestomach of a wearer.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a body-mountedsurfboard constructed of a plurality of separately inflatable sections.

These and other objects and features of the invention are apparent fromthe foregoing and ongoing specification, which includes the claims andfrom the drawings, which together with the specification comprise thedisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 isarepre'sentation of a bellysurfboard of the present invention mounted on the body of a wearer.

FIG. 2 is a detail showing an inflation valve and a buoyant neck ring.

FIG. 3 is across sectional detail showing the curvatures of thebody-mounted surfboard.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a surfboard which is integrally mountedon a wet suit.

FIG. 5 is an alternate modification of a body mounted surfboard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A surfboard user is generallyrepresented by the numeral 2 in FIG. 1, and a body-mounted surfboard isgenerally indicated by the numeral 5. The surfboard 5 is supported on alarge, soft, neck-encircling ring 4 which is bonded to the upper end 6of the surfboard. The-upper end 6 and the neck-encircling portion aresoft to prevent injury to the user and to-provide extra 7 buoyancy. inthe headarea. The extra buoyancy has two purposes, first to promote theforcing .of the head outward of a wave front when riding a wave andsecondly to keep the head above the water when the wearer may experiencetrouble or exhaustion. Grooves 8 are provided in the rounded outersurface of the boardbody to providedirectional stability. Awaist-encircling band 1-0 holds the board tightly against the body. In apreferred embodiment, the board is tapered from a maximum thickness nearthe chest area to a minimum thickness at the lower portion of the board12. Asshown in the drawings, the board has a width whichextendssubstantially across the chest of the wearer and has a length whichextends from below the chin of the wearer to the lower portion of atorso of. the wearer, substantially covering the frontal portion of thewearers uppertbody. The body-engaging straps and anchor means are con- Istructed in several embodiments. In one embodiment,

such as shown in the neck attachment of FIG. 1, the body-engagingelement hasone end connected to board 5. The free end encircles the neckand is secured to the front ofthe board 5 by. a buckle 14. In analternate'form, a loop'ancl hook type fastener isemployed. The bottom orwaist-anchoring means shownin FIG. 1 may be formed integrally with thesurfboard. and may be extended rearward, where they are joined by afastener. Alternatively, the elements may be cantilevered and curvedrearward and inward, gripping the body by their. resilience. In suchform, the body-encircling members may be gapped'or may overlap.

FIG.- 2 shows a detail of a surfboard which is inflatable through valve2} and stem 20. Preferably, the surfboard has several parallel sectionswhich are separately valved-to prevent leakage of air from all sectionswhen one section is punctured. As shown in the detail,

the neck section is an enlarged, inflated section for providingaugmented buoyancy in the neck area.

In FIG. 3, 'a cross section of a body-mounted surfboard is shown. Thesurfboard is formed of a molded foamed material 2 6. Its concave convexouter face has a plurality of grooves 28 which promote linear stabilityof the surfboard during wave riding activities.

FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention in which asurfboard is integrally mounted on an upper body covering wet suit 32.Board 35 is mounted on the chest and stomach portion of the wet suit 32.A rear zipper 37 provides ingress and egress. The lower portion of thesuit is closed by snap fasteners 42 to hold'wet suit 32 firmly in place.

Grooves 39 are provided in the front board portion 35 of wet suit 32 toprovide directional stability in use.

Quarter sleeves 45 may be replaced with will sleeves or armholes,according to the interest and comfort of the user.

A surfboard shown in FIG. 5 is generally referred to by the numeral 50.A shoulder strap 51 is adjustable by a buckle 52 and is fixed to a belt54, which is closed by a buckle 55. Portions of the sides of the board56 may be flattened to facilitate arm movement. Fin 57, mounted in afore and aft direction, provides directional stability. Belt 54 isextended through board through opening 58. Strap 51 is anchored to theboard by a bond 60.

Although the invention has been described in part by reference tospecific embodiments, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art thatmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention. The scope of the invention is defined in the followingclaims.

What-is claimed is:

l. A chest mounted surfboard comprising a relatively rigid body portionhaving a convex outer surface, having a breadth substantially extendingacross the chest of a wearer and having a length extending substantiallyfrom an area near a chin of a wearer along substantially all of afrontal portion of a torso of the wearer and having a concave innersurface for fitting against the body of a wearer, waist-engaging meansconnected to the body portion and extending rearward and inward for atleast partially encircling a waist of the wearer, an upper body portionengaging means connected to the body of the surfboard apparatus andextending rearward and inward for at least partially encircling an upperportion of a wearer, the body portion tapering substantially uniformlyand having a maximum thickness at a top and having a minimum thicknessat a bottom and further comprising plural longitudinal directionalorienting and stabilizing means on the external convex surface andextending in a direction from top to bottom and fore and aft along thesurfboard.

2. The apparatus of claim I wherein the body engaging means compriseresilient cantilevers integrally connected to the surfboard body andcurving rearward and inward substantially parallel to the surfboardbody, whereby the mounting means are deflected and the surfboard isplaced on the body.

3. The surfboard apparatus of claim 1 wherein the upper body-engagingmeans comprises a neck encircling floatation augmenting collar formed atan angle to the surfboard.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the neck encircling means compriseopposite cantilevers which are curved rearward and inward from thesurfboard body and which terminate in a gap for inserting the neck of awearer.

5. The surfboard apparatus of claim 3 wherein the neck encircling meansfurther comprise enlarged water displacement means for promoting andaugmenting floatation in the area of the neck encircling means.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the main body portion is constructedof rigid expanded foam material.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the body engaging means compriseportions of an upper torso wet suit and wherein the surfboard bodyportion is a substantially rigid section covering the chest and stomacharea of the wet suit and firmly secured thereto.

1. A chest mounted surfboard comprising a relatively rigid body portionhaving a convex outer surface, having a breadth substantially extendingacross the chest of a wearer and having a length extending substantiallyfrom an area near a chin of a wearer along substantially all of afrontal portion of a torso of the wearer and having a concave innersurface for fitting against the body of a wearer, waist-engaging meansconnected to the body portion and extending rearward and inward for atleast partially encircling a waist of the wearer, an upper body portionengaging means connected to the body of the surfboard apparatus andextending rearward and inward for at least partially encircling an upperportion of a wearer, the body portion tapering substantially uniformlyand having a maximum thickness at a top and having a minimum thicknessat a bottom and further comprising plural longitudinal directionalorienting and stabilizing means on the external convex surface andextending in a direction from top to bottom and fore and aft along thesurfboard.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the body engaging meanscomprise resilient cantilevers integrally connected to the surfboardbody and curving rearward and inward substantially parallel to thesurfboard body, whereby the mounting means are deflected and thesurfboard is placed on the body.
 3. The surfboard apparatus of claim 1wherein the upper body engaging means comprises a neck encirclingfloatation augmenting collar formed at an angle to the surfboard.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein the neck encircling means comprise oppositecantilevers which are curved rearward and inward from the surfboard bodyand which terminate in a gap for inserting the neck of a wearer.
 5. Thesurfboard apparatus of claim 3 wherein the neck encircling means furthercomprise enlarged water displacement means for promoting and augmentingfloatation in the area of the neck encircling means.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the directional stabilizing means comprises deep groovesmounted on the convex outer surface in a direction of top to bottom andfore to aft.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the directionalstabilizing means comprise grooves extending along substantially theentire convex surface.
 8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the main bodyportion and the encircling means are inflatable.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the main body portion is constructed of rigid expandedfoam material.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the body engagingmeans comprise portions of an upper torso wet suit and wherein thesurfboard body portion is a substantially rigid section covering thechest and stomach area of the wet suit and firmly secured thereto.